 Fayetteville police have tracked down the suspect in the car jacking and assault that occurred on December 21 at the Lafayette nursing home on Brandywine Blvd. in Fayetteville. With the help of Fairburn Police and the Fulton County Sheriff's Office, police tracked down Charlie Frank Collier Jr., 26, of Fairburn.
Collier has been charged with Robbery by Intimidation, Battery, two counts of Simple Assault and Theft by Taking Motor Vehicle.
As police described the incident, Collier emerged from the woods at the nursing home and ambushed two elderly women in the parking lot. One woman, a 60-year-old, was pushed to the ground several times while her 80-year-old sister, the car's owner, watched. The two women were holding purses and Christmas presents when Collier allegedly ran out of the woods shouting at them to "give it up, give it up, give it up," though it was unclear what exactly he wanted.
Collier ended up stealing the car and driving it to a very rural area in Lanett, Ala., where he abandoned it, having done no damage. Fayetteville Police Detective Mike Whitlow said this was one of many "bizarre," aspects of the crime, as most vehicle thefts end with the vehicle stripped down for parts or damaged in some way.
Not only did Collier leave the car unharmed, he left behind some particularly generous souvenirs for police to find. Whitlow says they found evidence in the car "identifying [Collier] directly," though he did not say exactly what kind of evidence. With that information, Whitlow was able to work with law enforcement in Fairburn, where Collier lives, to track him down and arrest him.
As for the location the car ended up in Lanett, Whitlow didn't offer many details but said Collier had a "family link" in the area.
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